Create a Separate Firefox Profile for Work

If your work browser needs different bookmarks, saved passwords and extensions from your personal browser, create a separate Firefox profile. Each profile holds its own browsing data, so you can build a work setup while keeping your existing personal setup available.

This guide covers desktop Firefox and its documented profile controls. Firefox 150, released on 21 April 2026, made the new profile management system available to all users. If you use an older version or see different controls, the original about:profiles manager provides another route. Firefox 150 release notes

Choose a profile when you need a separate browser setup

A profile can have its own bookmarks, logins, browsing history, extensions and theme. For example, you could keep a development extension and project bookmarks in Work, while Personal keeps your everyday reading and shopping accounts. Mozilla describes these as independent browsing spaces in its October 2025 profile announcement .

That is a broader separation than Firefox Multi-Account Containers. Containers separate website sessions inside one profile; profiles also separate the surrounding browser data and add-ons. Choose a profile when the bookmarks bar or extension list needs to differ. If you only want two logins on one website while keeping the same browser setup, a container may be sufficient. Mozilla’s explanation of profiles and containers

Create a new Work profile

In Firefox 150’s profile interface:

1. Click the account icon in the toolbar and open Profiles.
2. Choose + New profile. Firefox opens another instance for the new setup.
3. Give it a clear name such as Work. Choose a visibly different theme or avatar to help you recognise its windows.
4. Finish the setup and choose Done editing, or close the editing tab.

These controls appear in Mozilla’s approved April 2026 instructions . Menu placement can vary by operating system; Profiles can also appear in Firefox’s main menu.

Leave imports and optional synchronisation for later. First establish which window is Work and which is your existing profile. Keeping this first check small makes it easier to spot an unexpected result.

Check the separation before adding your accounts

Try a harmless bookmark as a practical check. In Work, bookmark an ordinary page and give it a distinctive name, such as “Work profile check”. Then open your original profile and look for that bookmark. Before you import or synchronise anything, it should belong only to Work.

Next, compare the installed extensions in the two profiles. Review the list rather than assuming the appearance of a new window proves everything is separate. Firefox’s profile model includes independent settings and add-ons, as its About Profiles interface describes .

Finally, return to Work and sign into the work service you actually need. Check the account shown inside the website before sending a message or uploading a file. A profile name is an organisational label; it cannot check the credentials you type.

If the bookmark appears in both places, confirm that you opened two different profiles. Also check whether you copied or imported the same data. Identical contents alone do not establish that Firefox is sharing the same profile.

Keep switching and Sync deliberate

Use the account icon, select the current profile’s name, then choose the profile you want to open. Under Manage Profiles, you can enable Choose a profile when Firefox opens so startup prompts you to choose. This is useful if the last browser window you used is not the one you want next time.

Creating a profile does not automatically sign it into a Mozilla account. Local profile setup and Firefox Sync are separate decisions. The new profile system also prevents multiple profiles on the same device from syncing to the same Mozilla account. You can leave Work local if you do not need its data on another device. Mozilla’s April 2026 profile and Sync guidance

For a workplace setup, follow your organisation’s rules about accounts, extensions and synchronisation. Decide what belongs in Work before importing personal data into it.

If you use the original about:profiles manager

Type about:profiles into Firefox’s address bar. Before creating anything, note the name of the profile currently in use and which entry is the default. Those are useful reference points if a later launch looks unfamiliar.

Choose Create a New Profile, follow the wizard, give it a descriptive name and keep its suggested folder location. Finish the wizard, then use the new entry’s launch button to open it. Mozilla documents this route in its original Profile Manager guide .

There is an easy-to-miss difference here: creating a profile through this manager makes it the default. If you want Firefox to keep starting with your original profile, set that original entry as the default again. Creating a profile and choosing the startup default are separate actions in Firefox 150’s Profile Manager implementation .

Leave your original entry in place. You can open it again without merging files or reinstalling Firefox.

If your usual bookmarks seem to disappear

An unfamiliar bookmark list after switching profiles is a reason to check which profile opened. Firefox stores bookmarks, passwords and extensions in profile data outside the application itself. A newly created profile can therefore look different while the original profile still holds your familiar setup. Where Firefox stores profile data

Return to the profile selector and open the original entry. In the original manager, use its launch control and check whether your bookmarks return. Do this before trying a reset, deleting a profile or copying files between folders.

Deleting a profile is a separate operation with consequences for its saved data. The original manager distinguishes removing an entry while keeping its files from deleting the files themselves; its Firefox 150 deletion prompts make that distinction explicit. Neither is needed to stop using Work and return to Personal.

Finish by closing and reopening Firefox once. Confirm that startup opens the profile you intended, or offers the chooser, and that you can still open the other profile. That is the useful end state: two recognisable browser setups, with a clear route back to each.